New charges for Lexington man in deadly boat crash may mean decades in prison

BY NOAH FEIT
NOVEMBER 25, 2020 12:12 PM

New charges were filed against the Lexington man who was arrested in August after two people were killed in a boat crash.

In the days following the Aug. 1 collision on the Broad River, Dylan Yancey Steele was charged with two counts of DUI in a water device resulting in death, or BUI, in addition to operating a boat without navigational lights, Newberry County court records show.

More than three months after the crash, Steele was also charged with two counts of reckless homicide by operation of a boat, 8th Circuit Solicitors Office spokesman Brian King told The State.

The 8th Circuit Solicitor will prosecute the case against Yancey because the collision happened in Newberry County. The solicitor’s jurisdiction also includes parts of Abbeville, Greenwood, and Laurens counties.

King said it is not uncommon for reckless homicide charges to be filed after an arrest is made on other crimes.

“If this were an automobile accident the solicitor’s office would indict this way,” King said. “It’s not as common with a boating accident, but the elements of the charges fit what the state believes the facts are.”

The two Jon boats collided at about 9 p.m., in a section of the river that’s near Hill Creek, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources previously told The State.

Steele was driving one of three boats that was part of the same group on the river, according to DNR. While the other vessels in the party in front of Steele stopped to make sure no other boats were coming, he ran over the second boat, going over the top of the other watercraft, DNR said.

Chapin resident Jamie Lindler, 27, and Irmo’s Andrew Bunnell, 28, were on board that second boat and were killed in the collision, Newberry County Coroner Laura Kneece said.

No other injuries were reported.

Lexington County court records show over the past six years, Steele has been arrested multiple times and paid fines for traffic infractions, including driving too fast for conditions and seat belt violations.

Barring a guilty plea, Steele is not expected to appear in court again on the boat crash charges until 2021, King said.

If convicted, Steele would face a maximum punishment on the reckless homicide charges of 10 years in prison and a $5,000 fine on each count, according to South Carolina law.

The maximum penalty on each DUI in a water device resulting in death charge is 25 years in prison and a $20,000 fine, according to South Carolina law.

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